Almost 700 homes and businesses will benefit from a £380,000 investment in two essential engineering projects to replace 2.7km of aging electricity cable, which have been in place since the Second World War, with new and efficient underground cables.

Engineers from the region’s power network operator, Electricity North West, will be working in the Park Road Industrial Estate in Bacup and Newchurch Road in Rossendale areas until January.

Dave Kenneford, engineering delivery manager for Electricity North West, said: “This is great news for Rossendale and we’re delighted that we’re able to invest in the network to make sure the lights stay on for another 80 years.

“We work hard to upgrade and maintain overhead power lines and underground cables and we will continue to invest in the power network across the North West to ensure we provide the best service to our customers.”

Engineers will keep any disruption to a minimum and there will be temporary traffic lights in place to allow the work to be carried out safely.

If customers have any queries about the project, they can call Electricity North West on the new free national number 105 or 0800 195 4141 or follow @ElectricityNW.